PPP Loan Fraud - Southern California

The GOAT Initiative
Daycare Investigation Phone Networks PPP NorCal PPP SoCal
711,752 Loans
$43.8B Total
49,003 Flagged
🔎
Area Risk:
Critical (40%+)
High (25-39%)
Moderate (15-24%)
Low (5-14%)
Minimal (<5%)
Show Methodology ▼
⚠️ Research Disclaimer: This dashboard is for investigative and research purposes only. The presence of a loan on this map does not constitute an accusation of fraud. Risk scores are based on patterns commonly associated with fraudulent PPP applications, but further investigation is required to determine if any actual fraud occurred.

📊 Risk Scoring System (1-10 Scale)

Each loan receives a composite risk score based on multiple fraud indicators:

  • PO Box/PMB Address: +15-20 points
  • Virtual Office: +15 points
  • Address Clustering: +10-20 points (3+ loans same address)
  • High $/Employee: +10-25 points ($25k+ per job)
  • Fintech Lender: +15 points
  • Zero Employees + $100k+ Loan: +25 points

💡 Why Fintech Lenders Are Flagged

FinCEN data shows fintech lenders were 5x more likely to process suspicious PPP loans compared to traditional banks.

Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed against fintech PPP lenders rose 39% from 2019-2022. These platforms used automated approval systems with reduced human oversight and compliance controls, making them attractive targets for fraudsters.

Flagged lenders include: Bluevine, Kabbage, Womply, Cross River Bank, Celtic Bank, Customers Bank, Ready Capital, Biz2Credit, and others with elevated SAR filing rates.

🎯 Area Risk Percentage

Map colors show the percentage of loans in each ZIP code with elevated risk scores (Medium or higher):

  • ● Critical: 40%+ loans flagged
  • ● High: 25-39% loans flagged
  • ● Moderate: 15-24% loans flagged
  • ● Low: 5-14% loans flagged
  • ● Minimal: <5% loans flagged

📋 Data Sources

This analysis uses official SBA PPP loan data cross-referenced with:

  • Census Bureau ZIP code coordinates
  • FinCEN SAR filing patterns
  • DOJ PPP fraud prosecution data
  • Known virtual office/mail drop databases

Total CA loans analyzed: 1,082,132